CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE DRAWING AND EVALUATION OF REPORTS ON THE ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS

Pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection, passed by the National Assembly on December 27, 1993;
Pursuant to Decree No.22-CP of May 22, 1993 of the Government on the tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment;
Pursuant to Decree No.175-CP of October 18, 1994 of the Government guiding the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection;
Pursuant to Decree No.42-CP of July 16, 1996 of the Government promulgating the Regulation on the Management of Investment and Construction;
Pursuant to Decree No.12-CP of February 18, 1997 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam;
The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment provides the following guidances on the contents and process of drawing and evaluating the reports on the assessment of environmental impact of domestic and foreign investment projects in Vietnam.

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES:

1. According to the provisions of Article 9, Chapter 3, Decree No.175-CP of the Government guiding the drawing of reports on the assessment of environmental impacts.

2. According to the provisions of Article 5, Decree No.42-CP and Article 39, Decree No.12-CP, due to difference in the nature, form of operation, technological standard, scope and location of the projects and the extents of environmental impacts of such projects, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment classifies the projects into the three following types:

2.1. Projects which need no report on the assessment of environmental impact (Appendix I)

2.2. Projects not included in Appendice I and II which require detailed reports on the assessment of environmental impact.

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Step 1: To apply for an investment license, a preliminary report on the assessment of environmental impact must be made;

Step 2: After the investment license is obtained, a detailed report on the assessment of environmental impact must be made and the evaluation procedures must be completed before starting the construction of the project.

3. Projects with different production stages which are carried out in different localities or vary greatly in their production character/technology (factories, material production/ exploitation areas, ports/specialized railway stations...), the report on the assessment of environmental impact is required for each stage.

4. Time for environmental evaluation to issue investment license:

a/ For a report on the preliminary assessment of the environmental impact, the license shall be granted within 15 days after the receipt of a full and valid dossier. If the dossier is incomplete, the environmental evaluation agency shall inform the agency competent to issue the investment license thereof so that the latter requests the investor to supplement the dossier within 7 days after the receipt of the project dossier.

b/ For a detailed report on the assessment of the environmental impact, the license shall be granted within 60 days after the receipt of a full and valid dossier. If the dossier is incomplete, the evaluating agency shall have to inform the investor thereof so that the latter completes it within 10 days after the receipt of the project dossier.

5. The result of the evaluation of the report on the assessment of environmental impact shall serve as basis for the consideration, approval and granting of a construction permit and the inspection of the environmental treatment facilities at the project (upon its completion) before issuing an environmental qualification certificate and allowing the project to operate.

II. IMPLEMENTATION STAGES:

1. The stage of investment license application or drawing of the pre-feasibility study report (if any); and feasibility study:

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1.2. Projects of type 2:

The economic-technical report (or feasibility study report) of the project, when applying for investment license (as prescribed in Article 14 of Decree No.42-CP and Articles 10, 13 and 27 of Decree No.12-CP), must contain a separate part or chapter briefly defining the factors of the project that may impact the environment (as defined in Appendix III). This shall serve as basis for the State agencies in charge of environmental protection to consider and evaluate the dossier.

1.3. Projects of type 3:

Such projects must go through 2 steps:

- Step 1: Making a separate preliminary report on the assessment of environmental impact (according to Appendix IV) which shall be submitted together with the pre-feasibility study report stipulated in Article 13 of Decree No.42-CP (the pre-feasibility study step) and the dossier of application for investment license stipulated in Articles 10, 13 and 27 of Decree No.12-CP. This shall serve as basis to consider the issue of an investment license.

If the preliminary report on the assessment of environmental impact has clearly detailed the production technology, raw materials, fuel, the evaluation of the extent and scope of negative environmental impact as well as the plans on waste reduction and waste treament technology that meets Vietnam�s environmental standards (defined in Item II.1.1 above), the Ministry of Science, Tecnology and Environment may consider the exemption of the drawing of the detailed report on the assessment of environmental impacts.

- Step 2: Making the detailed report on the assessment of environmental impacts as specified in Item 2 below.

2. The designing and construction stage:

For projects of types 2 and 3, after obtaining the investment license and confirming the site for construction, the project owner must make a detailed report on the assessment of environmental impact and submit it to the State agency in charge of environmental protection for evaluation according to the assignment of responsibilities defined in Appendix II of Decree No.175-CP.

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The contents of the detailed report on the assessment of environmental impact are defined in Appendix I.2, Decree No.175-CP.

A dossier to be submitted for evaluation shall include:

- An application for evaluation of the report on the assessment of environmental impact submitted by the project owner to the State agency in charge of environmental protection (according to the form defined in Appendix V)

- The detailed report on the assessment of environmental impacts: 9 copies in Vietnamese; for a foreign direct investment project or joint venture project with a foreign party, an English version of the report shall be added.

- The economic-technical report (feasibility study report): one copy.

3. The stage of construction completion:

At the end of the stage of construction, before the project is allowed to be put into use, the State agency in charge of environmental protection shall have:

- To coordinate with the construction permit granting agency in inspecting the waste treament facilities and other safety conditions in accordance with the regulations on environmental protection.

- If the project is found not up to the ratified environmental standards, to request the project owner to take measures in compliance with the evaluated report on the environmental impact assessment before allowing the project to operate. When the requirements on environmental protection have been met by the project owner, the State agency in charge of environmental protection shall issue an environmental qualification certificate.

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III. ORGANIZATION OF EVALUATION:

Due to the different extents of environmental impact and the diverse forms of operation and sizes of projects and to make it suit to the work of State management, the competence to evaluate the reports on environmental impact assessment shall be assigned as follows:

- According to Article 18 of the Law on Environmental Protection, the projects that greatly affect the environment shall be considered by the National Assembly Standing Committee. The time-limit for consideration shall be defined by the National Assembly.

- The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall evaluate Group-A projects as prescribed in Decree No.42-CP, Decree No.12-CP; and Appendix II of this Circular, and the projects assigned to it according to Decree No.175-CP.

- The People�s Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall evaluate the remaining projects in Decree No.12-CP, Decree No.42-CP and projects assigned thereto as defined in Decree No.175-CP.

The Presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government may authorize the Directors of the provincial/municipal Science, Technology and Environment Services to personally conduct the evaluation and issue the decision ratifying reports on the environmental impact assessment for the projects assigned to them.

For some projects which do not fall under the locality’s competence to evaluate, if the locality deems it capable of making evaluation, the provincial People’s Committee or the Science, Technology and Environment Service (mandated by the provincial People’s Committee) may make a written request and send it to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment for the authorization to evaluate. The evaluation shall be conducted only when there is a written authorization from the said Ministry and only then shall the evaluation results become valid. The time-limit for the Ministry to issue a written authorization is 10 days after receiving the written request and the full dossier of the project.

When a preliminary report on the environmental impact assessment is approved or rejected, the environment evaluation agency shall inform in writing the investment license granting agency (according to the one-door-only principle) of specific reasons for the consideration of the granting of license to the project.

If a detailed report on the environmental impact assessment is approved, the evaluation agency shall issue a decision for ratification. Such a decision shall be sent to: the project owner, the provincial/municipal People’s Committee and the Science, Technology and Environment Service of the province or city where the project is implemented (provided that the project is subject to the evaluation by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment) and the branch Ministry. For projects subject to the evaluation by local authorities, the evaluation results must also be sent to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment right after evaluation.

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IV. ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS:

All projects implemented on the Vietnamese territory must apply Vietnam�s environmental standards issued by the Minister of Science, Technology and Environment together with Decision No.2920-MTg of December 21, 1996. Projects implemented in localities that have their own environmental standards shall apply such local standards, especially in environmentally sensitive areas or key areas for environmental protection. However, such standards must not be lower than those published by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.

In cases where the standards to be applied are not prescribed in the Vietnam�s environmental standards, the project owner may apply the 1993 provisional standards set by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, refer to the equivalent standards of the country that has its technology and equipment transferred into Vietnam or the equivalent standards of a third country, but only after he/she obtains a written permission from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.

V. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS:

- This Circular replaces Circular No.715-TTg issued by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment on April 3, 1995.

- With regard to projects defined in Appendix II of this Circular (subject to the two-step formulation of reports on environmental impact assessment):

+ If they have been granted investment licenses before this Circular takes effect without making the detailed report on environmental impact assessment, such report must be formulated and submitted to the State agency in charge of environmental protection for evaluation.

Pending the consideration for granting the investment license, the preliminary report on the environmental impact assessment must be added to the dossier of application for licenses.

- This Circular takes effect 15 days after its signing.

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FOR THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
VICE MINISTER




Chu Tuan Nha

APPENDIX I

PROJECTS SUBJECT TO THE MAKING OF REPORTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT WHEN APPLYING FOR INVESTMENT LICENSES

1. Consulting offices

2. Working offices

3. Banks, financial and auditing establishments

4. Post and telecommunications services (except for high-frequency transmitting stations)

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6. Evaluation (except for technical evaluating agencies that use toxic chemicals, inflammable, explosive or radioactive materials)

7. Press distribution establishments, publishing houses (excluding printing houses)

8. Radio and television stations (including transmitting aerial mast under 100m high)

9. Hotels (with less than 100 rooms and without swimming pools, golf courses)

10. Trade centers, department stores

11. Business services

12. Catering services

13. Mechanical assembly (without painting, galvanizing, machine parts processing...)

14. Electronic assembly (without machine part production, painting, galvanizing)

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16. Yarn spinning, weaving (excluding dyeing, bleaching, cloth-printing)

17. Consumer goods manufacture: shoe making, stationeries, book binding, leather/canvas sewing... (excluding the production of printing ink of various kinds), with less than 10 workers.

18. Woodwork processing (excluding soaking and protection of wood)

19. Fine-art goods processing

20. Resettlement areas with less than 100 households

21. Power stations using wind or solar energy.

22. Small hydro-electric stations of under 10 KVA

23. Small irrigation works capable of draining and irrigating an area of under 100 ha

24. Afforestation and concentrated planting of industrial trees of less than 50 ha

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APPENDIX II

LIST OF PROJECTS SUBJECT TO TWO-STEP DRAWING OF REPORTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

1. Offshore and inland oil and gas exploitation, placement of oil and gas pipelines, construction of petroleum depots.

2. Oil refining, petro-chemistry

3. Projects that directly affect (according to the distances of waste gas and water discharge) nature preserve, sensitive ecological areas and tourist resorts. Areas with signs of environmental overload (such areas shall be specified by the specialized ministries)

4. Metallurgy

5. Nuclear reactors

6. Airports

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8. Urban planning and key economic areas

9. Production/storage of chemicals, weaving and dyeing, tanning

10. Paper pulp making

11. High-frequency transmitting stations

12. Deep-water ports (accessible to ships of more than 10,000 T)

13. Reservoirs, irrigation/hydro-electric systems (with capacity of more than 10 million m3)

14. Motorways

15. Garbage treatment areas, garbage burial sites, garbage incinerators, organic fertilizer processing.

16. Gold and rare earth exploitation.

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18. Planning of waste water treatment centers with capacity of more than 10,000 m3/day

19. Crematoria.

APPENDIX III

REPORT ON FACTORS AFFECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
(may be made in a separate chapter or part in the economic-technical report when applying for investment license)

I. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MAIN FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT:

1. Materials on the environmental status at the place where the project is to be implemented: (the quality of surface and underground water; the quality of air, land, ecological system...). General comments on the extent of pollution at the place where the project is to be implemented.

2. Description of the diagram/production technological process, estimates of materials/fuel to be used, list of chemicals... (if they are not mentioned in the economic-technical report).

3. When the project is implemented, the main factors that may affect the environment due to the operation of the project must be substantiated (estimated amount of waste gas and water, solid waste, noise...). Estimate of the extent of potential impact on the environment.

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APPENDIX IV

CONTENTS OF A PRELIMINARY REPRORT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
(for projects subject to two-step drawing of reports on the environmental impact assessment)

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Purpose of the report

2. Data and material bases used in the report

3. Brief description of operation of the project (raw materials, technological scheme, products, fuel, support system)

II. DATA ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS

Qualitative evaluation (or quantitative evaluation, if possible, in form of data tables) on the environmental status at the place where the project is to be implemented. Qualitative evaluation of pollution according to the extent: serious, average, light or unclear, for each of the natural environmental factors (land, surface/underground water, air, ecological system...)

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General evaluation of each environmental factor with emphasis laid on those factors affected mainly due to the operation of the project:

1. Waste gas: from what process and pollutants, estimated amount thereof...

2. Waste water: from what process and pollutants, estimated amount thereof...

3. Solid wastes: classification of their composition, quantity

4. Other factors: noises, heat...

5. Potential incidents: fire, explosion, oil overflow, leakage of toxic gas or radioactive substances...

6. Evaluation of the potential impact on each environmental factor; air, water, land, ecological system...

7. Other related impacts.

IV. MEASURES FOR LESSENING THE IMPACTS

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1. The map of the location where the project is to be implemented with marks, names and production forms of production establishments, the previous projects, the population centers in the area..., which may suffer from reciprocal environmental impacts.

2. Tables and data clarifying the related environmental issues (if any).

APPENDIX V.1

THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence- Freedom- Happiness

(Place), date month 1997

APPLICATION FOR EVALUATION OF A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

To: The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment

(the People�s Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government)

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Address:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The project site:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Telephone number:-----------------; Fax number:---------------------------------------------------------------

We would like to send to the Ministry (the provincial/municipal People�s Committee) the following dossiers:

- The economic-technical report (01 copy in Vietnamese)

- The report on the environmental impact assessment (02 copies in Vietnamese).

We stand guarantee for the accuracy of data in these documents and pledge that our project shall not use those chemicals or microbiological species banned in Vietnam or by international treaties which Vietnam has acceded to. We also assure that all standards and norms of the countries and international organizations extracted and used in our reports are accurate and still valid.

We shall take responsibility before law of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for any inaccuracy or misinformation.

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Director of the project

(signature and seal)

APPENDIX V.1

THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence- Freedom- Happiness

(Place), date month 1997

APPLICATION FOR EVALUATION OF A DETAILED REPORT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

To: The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment

(the People�s Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government)

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Address:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The project site:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Telephone number:------------------; Fax number:--------------------------------------------------------------

We hereby send to the Ministry (the provincial/municipal People�s Committee) the following dossiers:

- The economic-technical report (01 copy in Vietnamese)

- The report on the environmental impact assessment (09 copies in Vietnamese and one copy in English).

We stand guarantee for the accuracy of data in these documents and pledge that our project shall not use those chemicals or microbiological species banned in Vietnam or by international treaties which Vietnam has acceded to. We also assure that all standards and norms of the countries and international organizations extracted and used in our reports are accurate and still valid.

We shall take full responsibility before law of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for any inaccuracy or misinformation.

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Director of the project

(signature and seal)